Chapter 10
"Speech"
"Native Dragon Tongue"
The war drags on, the drums beat faster as we marched. The sky burns with fury as the Realms themselves open up to fight our foes. Today we take the capital of the elementless ones who plague our lands! To victory or our deaths!
-Terradonanis, First Guardian of Earth, The Final Dragon War.
When the light finally faded from Ravenwing's vision, the grey dragon would find himself back to his human state and in a dusty old room scaled to his size. The room seemed to be one of an old log cabin which was a single room big with a single fire place, table, and stove as the only items in the room. A groan escaped the now human as he rubbed his head and walked to the window to peer outside into the snow white forest darkened by the pure black sky, that was when he saw it. A massive dragoness landing a few dozen meters away, easily twice as big as Ignitus was, Her scales were cracked and broken as a sullen look was across her regal features as her head crest glowed a bit more. Ravenwing kept watching as the dragoness seemed to look around confused for a few seconds. "What is she looking for?" He asked aloud as he watched the dragoness' figure scan the area before it seemed to spy the light coming from the fire behind the human in the cabin and seemed to directly look towards him. The human seemed a bit surprised and moved back as the dragoness slowly made her way over, her black eyes with white irises staring down at the cabin as it barely reached above the top of her paws.
"I can smell you within that structure creature." The dragoness said in a voice that echoed with power and authority. Ravenwing panicked a little bit at the sight of the massive dragoness outside the cabin. "If you come out, you will not be harmed."
"And if I dont?" He called out to her
"If you don't I'll just crush this feeble structure and move on to see which of my kin summoned me. Though why would they choose now of all times to seek my guidance..." She replied with a matter of fact tone of voice. Ravenwing blinked surprised and moved to walk outside, shivering a small bit in the cold air as he looked up to the regal dragoness as he rubbed his arms as he watched her sniff the air as if searching the area for something which let her tattered and broken scales be revealed to more light and also revealing golden markings along her back in a language Ravenwing had no hope to translate. "It's strange...the dragon that I seek seems to be near but all that I see is you..."
"Well I mean it beats me I was just reading some weird magical book in my room before waking up here." Ravenwing replied up to her as he rubbed his arms some. "Jesus Christ it's cold..." He added before the dragoness turned to face him and sniffed the air, blinking even more in surprise.
"It was you who summoned me...but you're not one of my kin." She said down to him.
"Blame the magic book!" He said in reply as he threw his hands upward in annoyance.
"So you mean to tell me creature...you found some...'magical book'...and summoned me?" The dragoness said in a bored tone with a confused glance. Ravenwing nodded. "Great...10,000 cycles of presuming all of my kin have been wiped out only to be summoned by some creature who is barely bigger than a flea." Ravenwing growled a small bit up to her.
"I have a name you know miss 'Oh High and Mighty!'" He replied in an angry tone which caught the dragoness off guard. "It's not my fault that happened so why not instead of talking down to me like some pompous prick, you instead act like a reasonable being and at least talk to me while I'm here." The dragoness growled a little bit and gritted her teeth before sighing some. Ravenwing wore an seemingly annoyed and furious expression as he looked to the dragoness as she leaned back.
"You certainly have the expressive nature of my sky kin..." She said with a huff. "So then...how did you manage to summon me?" At this the human at her paws shrugged a bit and leaned on one of the support post of the cabin.
"To be frank I have no clue...I just remember some blue dragoness taking me to a guest room of sorts, though got to say they really need to redecorate, then I cracked open a book I'd recently found on some floating aisle and began to read. Next thing I know I'm in a cabin freezing my ass off and you show up." He replied making the dragoness eye him suspiciously some as she took all the information in. "I wish I could just go back. I miss my scales and wings." He added catching the white dragoness off guard.
"Scales and wings...?" She said with a cocked head. "But you're a mammal...unless..." She began before trailing off. "Describe what kind of being you were before you woke up here." She all but ordered. The human huffed a bit but didn't really see a point in arguing with her and instead just was truthful.
"Well grey scales, black hair, two big spines on my tail, and really really fast." He stated which made the dragoness step back a bit in surprise.
"Impossible...they were the first ones wiped out once the war was in its last days..." She said with a small quiver to her tone. "Did you see any other dragons that never looked the same as an elemental?"
"Look I'm still not used to dragons in the first place...this whole magic bullshit is kinda what I wanted to avoid..." He began before getting starkly interrupted.
"Just answer the question damn it!" She said in an angered and yearning tone. Ravenwing crossed his arms a bit.
"Fine, Fine...there was some pink dragoness we met a while ago...could go invisible, was very defensive, and had a very bad attitude problem. Kinda like you." He said with a small chuckle at the end of the sentence.
"So my kin did survive..." The dragoness said trailing off as a shocked expression took over her features. "Why are you not trying to rebuild with her?"
"I don't know how dragons do things lady, but I was on a task to get two 'legendary heros' home. I just want to talk to the dude who asked me to do the task and then fly off to my own place." He added with a roll of his eyes.
"Just like the rest of your kind Sky-Screecher, isolationist until the bitter end." The dragoness stated with a bit of disgust. "Never once thinking about anyone else's problems until it is to late. Even when you have a chance for vengeance against your kind you deny the chance." Ravenwing gave a hard glare up to her.
"It's not my fault what ever happened, happened. Why should I care about it when it never affected me personally? Who would I kill? Who would it even bring back if I was somehow tempted to do anything like that? If it really was such a long time like you seem to imply, no one would even remember it. There's a saying where I come from 'The sins of the father should not weigh upon the son.'" Ravenwing said up to her, catching her off guard. "Why do dragons always seek a desire for some self righteous sense of valor and justice when all it does is cause pain...?" A tense second went by as the dragoness seemed to glare intensely at Ravenwing before her posture changed. Her glare softened a small bit as she leaned back and sat down before him, still firmly looking down to the Ravenwing. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she smiled a bit.
"And that's why your kind were the diplomats. Always knowing just what to say at the right time." She said with a shake of her head as she looked down to Ravenwing. "I had to see if you were really what you claimed to be..." The white dragoness then paused a bit as she looked down to the human. "Though I am curious...why would the mental projection of a Sky-Screeher be that of a hairless mammal instead of their draconian form? I made your kind in my likeness for a reason afterall..." Ravenwing shrugged a bit as he continued to lean on the post of the porch.
"Well I mean...maybe cause I was born this way?" He mused with a thoughtful tone. "Then again when that blue geezer said he would turn me into a dragon I specifically stated not to be caught up in some destiny bullshit preordained by 'powers we cannot hope to grasp.'" He added rubbing his forehead causing the white dragoness to recoil a bit in shock.
"I thought all my kin would know their great Dam when they were in my presence..." She stated a bit sadly before she paused. "Wait...turned into a dragon...? No being in this realm is capable of such an act except by me alone...and I have never seen you in any of the flows of time I guard. Who is this 'blue geezer'?"
"Ignitus, The Chronicler." Ravenwing said matter-of-factly. "Surprisingly good manners and hospitality, outside of the profanity filter he wants to impose..." The human shrugged again and the white dragon pondered a bit.
"I see the elementals also have their higher being now..." She said aloud.
"I hate to ask so late in the conversation lady...but just who are you?" Ravenwing said up to her curiously.
"My kin call me the Moon Dragoness, but I prefer to be called Great Dam since I consider all of my kin my hatchlings. Though I am now just a feeble footnote in the history of the Realms now...despite all my hatchlings did and fought for." She said as she trailed off sadly and looking down. "And what of you, mammal turned Sky-Screecher? What is your title?"
"I...Ravenwing." The human replied with a small curt bow of respect to her. She gave a nod of reply to him and sighed a bit. She stood up again and looked to him with a small smile.
"Even though you were not hatched as my kin young Ravenwing...you share the body and mind of my kin in the waking world. I must ask however, what are your true intentions with the Realms? You mentioned wanting to live away. I assume you mean with more of your kin?" The Moon Dragoness replied with a cock of her head.
"No. I want to live along without disturbance or bother. I can't exactly reintegrate with society..." He said in a downcast voice, making the dragoness perk up some.
"And why is that?" She asked.
"Um...it's not exactly something I wish to discuss. We just met and I really don't want to talk about it..." He said trailing off with a small bit of annoyance in his tone. The white dragoness seemed to blink a bit confused before nodding a bit in understanding.
"I see...in any case. Now I must ask you, how did you meet this 'Chronicler'? Surely this being would know about the history between you and their kind." She said with a semiannoyed tone before looking at him with her wite irises.
"I didn't seek him out...well right now I am but that's besides the point. All I know was that I died and woke up in some grungy looking Roman Temple with a blue dragon about a head shorter than you reading books in a panic." Ravenwing replied. "I was probably the last person on the list he'd want to enlist for help in finding his former student. I just want to go back to it." The white dragoness nodded and seemed to sigh a small bit sadly at Ravenwing's declaration to leave his mental landscape and return to the world of the living.
"I...I see. I apologize for my blunt nature and threat earlier young Ravenwing." She said shuffling her paws a bit. "Should you ever need guidance however, just cast the ritual I'm sure your Sire and Dam taught and I shall head the call. It's not like I have anyone waiting in line for them anymore..."
"Wait what spell? Are you saying I can do magic?" Ravenwing stated. The Moon Dragoness blinked a bit surprised before chuckling.
"Of course you can, why did you think I assigned your kind the keepers of the storms and winds?" She added before looking down to him, causing Ravenwing to look even more confused. "Just repeat after me...An speur gu h-àrd agus an talamh gu h-ìosal, leig leis a' ghealach a bhith soilleir a-nochd." She added as she drew her foreclaw on her right paw in the air in a circular motion before swirling her fingers, the slashes causing rings of white light to fill the air as if she had a marker and was writing on a white board. Ravenwing blinked in shock and was taken aback. The moon dragoness giggled some to herself as as stood up and spread her wings. "Now arise Sky-Screecher, the day is still upon you." As she said those words she flapped her wings in a gust like fashion which bathed the air in a moonlight white as Ravenwing's vision blurred.
"Not again!" He exclaimed in surprise before he was consumed by the white light. He quickly covered his face from the blast before snapping awake on the floor in his room again, back to his draconian state. The grey dragon rubbed his head as he turned to regain his bearings due to his vision still being blurred. He noticed two messy looking shapes in his vision by the doorway, and what seemed to be a glowing yellow orb near by them. "Ugh did anyone get the license plate number of that truck." He said as he rubbed his head and eyes, clearing his vision to reveal Spyro and Cynder at the door way and a glowing yellow insectoid or sorta hovering next to them. Cynder just gave a facepaw at the expression as Spyro seemed to cock his head.
"Um, what's a truck...?" He asked. Ravenwing shook his head dismissively.
"It's just a um...northern expression." He said with a small sheepish grin.
"Hmph another one with secrets?" The insectoid said out loud which caused Ravenwing to glare a bit surprised before looking to Spyro and Cynder.
"Um...did anyone else notice the flying torch talking?" He asked, trailing a bit off. Cynder seemed to giggle slightly at the comment before rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, it's just getting him to be quiet that's the hard part." She replied with an eyeroll to which the yellow creature seemed to develop a tick mark along his forehead.
"You hear how she treats me bro? I swear she has it out for me." The being said before flying right into the face of Ravenwing who nearly stepped back a bit due to the invasion of personal space. "Never seen one like you around here before grey scales, though I doubt you could be as bad as her." It said as it seemed to use one of its "hands" to gesture to Cynder. Spyro just sighed.
"Sparx..." He breathed a bit in embarrassment as he looked to the now named Sparx. Ravenwing raised a brow in confusion as he looked between the three.
"Some wanna fill me in or..." He asked.
"This is Sparx, my brother." Spyro said making Ravenwing look even more surprised and confused.
"You best believe it, and now that you're back I'm not ever leaving your side again purple boy." Sparx retorted with a confident cross of his arms.
"What are you guys doing here anyways?" Ravenwing asked as he rose up to his full height and stretched.
"Well we were going to go back outside to get you after we noticed you were left outside, but then someone told us they showed you a room to stay in so we wanted to check on you and see how you were doing ." Spyro replied with a smile before Sparx cut in.
"You forgot about big blue and boring going on and on for an hour about how pleased he was at you two coming back." Sparx added in a dull tone which made the two younger dragons roll their eyes.
"It wasn't an hour, more like 15 minutes at most." Cynder stated with flat tone.
"Maybe your perception of time is bugged." Sparx said, with made Ravenwing sigh.
"The only thing bugging right now is you glow torch." He cut in as he put away his book in his satchel before sliding the satchel off of his body and near the make shift bed of pillows. Sparx grumbled a bit to himself as the two dragons chuckled a bit. "I assume 'big, blue, and boring' is the ice guardian Cyril right?" The question earned him some confused nods.
"I thought you didn't know any of the Guardians." Spyro said aloud with made Ravenwing shrug a bit.
"A little birdy told me about him." He replied with a chuckle as he moved to the door.
"Wait birds can talk? I didn't know they could talk! I've had a few things to say to those bozos for ages now!" Sparx commented, making Ravenwing facepalm. The grey dragon shook his head some as he walked up to Spyro and Cynder who stood at the open doorway.
"On another note, you guys know what they have to eat over here?" Ravenwing asked. "Cause I'm starved."
"Well we just ate some...bass I think it was called in the mess hall." Cynder said open endedly. "Though that's about what they have right now. Oh Terrador was looking for you." The grey dragon nodded before sighing.
"Oh great..." He said as his ears flattened a bit. "I'll catch you guys later then...dont have to much fun behind closed doors." Ravenwing added with a slight chuckle as he turned to leave the room, leaving both the purple and black dragon a blushing mess.
"What does that mean?" Sparx asked not quite getting what Ravenwing meant by that statement.
"In 3...2...1..." Ravenwing mused before hearing shout from his room.
"We aren't mates!" Exclaimed both of the younger dragons while Ravenwing chuckled a bit and rounded the corner, trying to back track to the training room that Crystal had shown him earlier that day.
The walk was relatively peaceful, if not slightly a little uncomfortable. Each hall was just as empty as before, but without a guide or companionship, the long corridors felt liminal. Empty rooms where dragons should be as well as still broken pictures and furniture lined some of the halls. After making another left turn in what felt like a long winding maze Ravenwing seemed to reach the entrance to the library he encountered Volteer in earlier, only now instead of being filled with the hums of the yellow dragon, it was coated in a heated argument between two male voices and a female voice in the distance. Curiosity got the better of the grey dragon and he poked his head inside the room to see Volteer, Crystal, and another light blue dragon with a sky blue underbelly matching Crystal's were all arguing over a book on the table before them.
"Cyril for the last time there is no scientific evidence to even suggest a preposterous hypothesis could eve be true. There would be no diversity within the bloodline!" Volteer said with an annoyed huff as he turned to the slightly larger dragon.
"And Volteer I will say it again, my family lineage goes back generations upon generations of pure ice dragon history. Our blood is the purest as we are the best in-tune with our element!" Cryril replied with an equally annoyed huff. Ravenwing slowly climbed up the spiral staircase as he watched the conversation, hoping not to interrupt them but at the same time having to agree with Volteer's point. He noticed Crystal looking a bit annoyed at the two of the larger dragons as she made a point to join the conversation as well.
"That's because we're ice dragons Sire. We are the best in-tune with our element because no one else can use it." Crystal said in a deadpanned voice which Ravenwing couldn't help but make a slight chuckle as he made his way to the entrance to the stands of the training room.
"Crystal, don't let Volteer pollute your thoughts with his lies..." Cyril said before trailing off. "Where is your necklace?" The light blue dragon asked with a more annoyed tone as he looked to Crystal who wore a sheepish grin and gulped a small bit.
"I um...It was a little tight today, plus I had to go to town...met some dragon...I didn't want to be recognized." She said under his gaze before her eyes caught the form of Ravenwing who froze a bit as she quickly cast a glance up to the grey dragon before looking back to Cyril who thankfully didn't notice her gaze. The older blue dragon let out a long sigh before shaking his head some and looking to her.
"That's not a valid excuse to cast off your birthright young one. Me and your Dam are trying to prepare you to take up my mantle Crystal, you can't just 'go to town'...did you even take your escort with you? And what sort of dragon did you meet?" Cyril asked in a small accusing manner to the younger dragoness. Crystal's head dropped a bit before she sighed some, a frown forming on her face. Ravenwing grumbled a bit silently as he watched the proceedings, knowing that if he were to say or do anything it would just make the situation worse.
"No I didn't take my 'escort' with me, Sire. No one cares who I am here, plus I doubt anyone would steal from me with the strict gem budget you have me on as it is. As for what kind of dragon I met..." Crystal began before thinking a bit as she cast a quick glance to Ravenwing before meeting Cyril's gaze. "He's funny, though doesn't know a whole lot about how this place works. I would call him a friend." She replied with a smirk of defiance at Cyril which just earned her a bored expression from the larger blue dragon. Cyril sighed before looking to Volteer.
"Retire to your room for now Crystal, me and Volteer still have urgent matters to discuss." He said to her before turning to the electric dragon who seemed to jump up a small bit after not being the center of the prideful dragon's gaze for a few minutes. Crystal simply sighed and nodded before walking out the library with her head slightly downcast which made Ravenwing just shake his head before giving one final glance to Cyril.
"Dick." The grey dragon grumbled to himself before sneaking to the door and opening it gently before shutting it behind himself. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he slowly walked up a small flight of stairs. As the grey dragon walked up, he could head sounds of clanking metal, raging fire, and grunts of pain which only caused him to sigh a bit as he opened the door to see Terrador near the edge of the onlooking platform that looked down into the arena. Upon getting closer to the edge of the balcony, Ravenwing could see a red and orange dragon in the ring. The dragon was more muscular than himself and had long swept back horns and broad wings. his back spines, horns, and tailblade were a deep burnt charcoal color as his blue eyes shone in stark contrast to the rest of the dragon's frame.
"You wanted to see me?" The grey dragon said as he watched Terrador hit a plate on the floor and instantly 14 wicker and straw dummies with wooden swords and shields popped up from the dusted stone floor and began to move along pathways the long wooden stakes jutting out from beneath them were connected too. The exacerbated red dragon groaned and got into a fighting stance and began to attack the dummies as Terrador spoke.
"I did young dragon." He said before turning to face the grey dragon next to him who seemed to be watching the fighting style of the red dragon closely to make mental notes. "I am curious as to what element do you use...you remind me of a description my late Sire once told me of."
"Well um..." Ravenwing said before trailing off, trying to think of a justifiable response to the upfront question. "I don't know...what do you mean by element? Don't all dragons just breathe fire..." He asked with a cocked head which caused Terrador to look at the grey dragon with a surprised expression. The war veteran has heard many things but never a dragon not knowing about the elements.
"No...some dragons like myself use different forms of magic to enhance or create attacks." Terrador began explaining. "I use the Earth at will with how I move. Even now there is a small defensive barrier around my scales made from the very dust in this room." The grey dragon seemed to nod a bit at the information as a torrent of red fire from its mouth and incinerated a few of th dummies as other approached him along the wooden mechanisms. "To not have an elemental affinity or at least no knowledge of one is quite unheard of I would say youg dragon."
"That's what living up north gets you I suppose." Ravenwing replied with a shrug as he turned to Terrador, the crimson eyes of the grey dragon seemed to look quizzical at Terrador. "But what description would that be might I ask?"
"My Sire and Dam fought in one of the last dragon wars in our ancient history. They were the commanders of armies assigned to defend the Realms from an even greater threat more powerful than the ancient golems of old. The beasts he described were things that would give a hatchling nightmares, dragons able to vanish and reappear anywhere at will with no warning, ones who howled like devils in the skies, some who had fire so hot it burned as bright as the sun itself, and some who could even be considered wizards in their own right. Those were the ones my Sire warned me the most about." Terrador answered honestly. Ravenwing tensed up a bit and thought back to one of his books he pulled from the ancient library as well as the battle maps. 'So this confirms the two types had a war...but why did they even fight?' The grey dragon mused.
"Well I'm not the boogie man or anything." Ravenwing said with a soft chuckle and rolled his eyes as both dragons heard a big thud, which caused them to turn to look at the exhausted red dragon as he lied upon the floor panting.
"I finished the wave Master Terrador." The red dragon said between pants as his breathing became a bit labored. The older Earth dragon sighed a bit and nodded as he looked to the red dragon who seemed to be in a balance of fear, exhaustion, and hopefulness.
"That you did young Flari." Terrador replied as he looked to he red dragon. "Go take some time to rest, we will continue this tomorrow."
"But Master Terrador...surely I can..." The now named Flari said in a worried manner.
"No, you need rest. When you are given approval to return by the medical staff we will continue your training." Terrador replied as Flari shakily stood up and nodded some with a sigh as his tail dropped. The immediate impression the dragon gave Ravenwing was shattered by the sigh the dragon gave, giving of the feeling of an eager student trying to impress their mentor. The pair watched Flari trudge away slowly and out the main entrance of the arena before closing the door behind him. "Would you like to give it a tru young Ravenwing?" The grey dragon gave a small surprised glance to Terrador before compising himself and shrugging.
"Well...to be honest it has been a long time since I've done anything like this, with the whole flying for 5 years south and all that sort of thing..." He said as he looked a little unsure to the arena, a small fear building as his draconian side began to emerge again and thirsted for a chance to train.
"Well there is no time like the present young dragon." Terrador said with a nod. "It will not be a full course, just something we give to the...hatchlings..." Terrador looked to gage Ravenwing to see if he'd fall into the pait of defending his pride and seemed a bit surprised when the grey dragon showed restraint and did not immediately explode upon the earth dragon.
"Sure I guess, got to start somewhere right?" Ravenwing said finally after seeing no alternative to the situation, the response stunning the earth dragon to the core. Terrador however did not let these concerns show and instead nodded and gestured Ravenwing to get into the arena. The grey dragon gave a soft nod as he traced where Flari leave the arena and used that path to make it inside.
"Are you ready?" Terrador asked down to the grey dragon, who when now exposed to the light poking through the sunroof, looked even more like the howling demon dragons his Sire had described. Ravenwing gave a nod as Terrador pulled a lever and instantly two dummies 'stood up'. The pair began to slowly move along their tracks at about an inch ever 2 minutes and seemed to be made up of a stone like composition.
Ravenwing paused as he saw the dummies rise up and slowly began to pace around them, using his walking speed to stay out of any danger as he examined where the best spot to strike would be. After a minute of examining the structure of his foes however, Ravenwing felt a feeling all to familiar to the grey dragon. His primal instincts were kicking back in and overriding his natural course of thinking, filling the dragon's vision with red as he quickly slashed the base of one of the dummies with ease. The wooden support frame was no match for the grey dragon's sharpened claws as he tore through at least 8 inches of solid pole. The dummy collapsed to the ground and just as soon as that one was down, Ravenwing jutted out his twin tailblades at the neck of the second dummy, cutting the ropes and magical binds holding the head of the dummy in place before wrenching the head of the second dummy off.
Terrador looked on in surprise, sure the entry to the fight was slow, but the grey dragon managed to end the first wave he threw to the younger dragon withing 10 seconds after striking the first blow. Terrador looked down to the grey dragon in the arena and decided to press a few plates to cause a few more dummies to pop up, this time they were 4 times faster and capable of actually striking the grey dragon should he not be careful.
Ravenwing watched 8 more dummies pop up from the ground and begin to advance. The grey dragon smirked a little bit as his primal side filled his vision, showing Ravenwing where exactly the magical pathways of the dummies were as well as heightening his senses. He decided to start with the two before him and lunged, slicing one in half eith ease as he tackled it down. The second dummy tried to strike him, but was quickly blasted away by a stream of pure white fire, melting the dummy down to the base of its support pole. As Ravenwing turned his attention to another set, Terrador stood there stunned at what he was watching. The style wasn't that of a typical dragon he'd seen before but instead that of a wild animal. The only difference was that the grey dragon seemed to make pinpoint strikes against where even he could not see the point of striking but watched as two dummies collapsed into a pile of wood and stones.
The grey dragon spun on the other 4 dummies and growled a small bit as his eyes were fully slits and he lunged towards another pair, though this time he made out a chant as he struck. "Crògan stailc" Terrador heard Ravenwing say almost instinctively and a soft white hum filled the air as the grey dragon's claws glowed a bright moonlight white and became razor sharp. Ravenwing brought down his new claws, not even noticing what he did, upon an unsuspecting dummy. The dummy seemed fine at first before exploding in a brilliant blast of moonlight and leaving behind a pule of ashes in its wake. Terrador looked on shocked at what he was seeing as the last three dummies fell with similar fates.
When the smoke cleared, Ravenwing stood in the middle of the room, his glowing claws returned back to normal as he lookd up at Terrador who wore a vissible shocked expresion upon his face. Ravenwing cocked a brow as he looked up to Terrador who quickly recomposed himself and nodded at the work Ravenwing performed. "Well done young dragon..." He said, earning continued confused stare to be given by the grey dragon. "You are free to leave." Terrador added with a nod, causing Ravewing to nod and turn to leave the arena, closing the door behind him as he went. 'Is that the power my Sire warned us of...?' Terrador thought to himself as he left the arena as well to reconvene with the other Guardians. What either dragon in the arena did not notice was a small shadow of a black raven take off from the skylight and fly up through. the top of the temple and off into the distance.
-Meanwhile-
Crystal was fuming on the inside as she left the library. Her chipper outward appearance had the desired effect of fooling her Sire and Volteer into thinking she took it better than she really did. 'I don't want to be the next Ice Guardian,' She thought with a huff before turning back to go to her room. 'Though I wonder what he was doing up by the arena.' The blue dragon shook her head and continued walking down the corridor, past various images hung upon the wall. They were old portraits of dragon kings and Guardians painted way before she was even hatched, though one did see to catch her eye. It was one of a darker blue dragoness who wore ornate jewelry along her neck and around her horns. Crystal stopped to stare at the painting for a few seconds, taking in the detail of the design and artwork as her eyes followed the white patterns or royal birth markings along the dragoness' face and neck, ones she shared in having herself. A soft sigh escaped the blue dragoness as she turned away from the painting and shook her head. "We miss you, Dam..." She said to one in particular as she walked off, leaving the corridor and entering her room.
The room itself was a very ornate, complex carvings and busts were on various tables and shelving units. The bed was an actual bed and not just a pile of pillows on the floor with silk window curtains obscuring any light. She turned her head to look at a mirror that held a set or jewelry designed specifically to fit on her horns as well as a gold necklace with various blue crystals and gems along it with the main draw being a dragon with its wings spread wide. She was about to put on her signaling items when she heard a knock upon her closed door. Crystal's brow raised a bit in confusion as she turned and opened the door to reveal Cynder standing outside the door. Crystal was taken a bit of guard and looked down to the younger dragon at her door. "What's up?" The blue dragoness said after recompossing herself from the surprise.
"You got a minute?" Cynder asked. Crystal nodded a bit in reply and gestured the black dragoness into her room before closing the door to let the two have their privacy.
"What's on your mind?" Crystal asked as she gestured for Cynder to sit on some guest 'seats' on the floor next to her bed. Cynder took the blue dragoness up on her offer before turning back to resume th conversation.
"I need some advice." She said plainly. Crystal raised a brow.
"Oh? What do you need?" Cyrstal asked with. cocked head. Cynder softly blushed a bit and turned to look down some.
"It's about Spyro...I know we haven't talked much since you found out about what I did to your Sire...but I need help." She seemed to ask as her head hung low. Crystal hummed a bit in thought as she pondered the words of the black dragoness before sighing.
"I'm still upset about that fact Cynder...but I know what you did wasn't your fault." She said as she held back the urge to instinctively growl when the black dragoness mentioned her Sire. Crystal was furious when she found out about her Sire being imprisoned and tortured by the younger dragon, but could also see the younger dragon had no control of herself or powers at the time. Another sigh escaped her lips as she keep staring to Cynder, keeping her expression neutral throughout the conversation so far. "What about him?"
"Well whenever we were making our way back with Ravenwing...I heard him day some things...things I don't know how to process." Cynder replied. Crystal cocked her head some. She had known about the purple dragon's crush on Cynder since the begining of the eternal night when she had ran into him on his way to track Cynder while she was flying to see her sire.
"What did he say?" Crystal couldn't help but ask with a soft smile on her face at the two finally being able to not be denser than a glacier.
"He...he said I was strong, brave, mentioned something about replaying a debt that he owes me..." Cynder replied, making Crystal try not to smile and keep her face neutral. "That's what I overheard him say anyways..."
"Overheard?" Crystal asked with a raised brow.
"He was telling it to Ravenwing though for some reason...maybe he was just saying things or somthing though." Cynder replied with a blush briliant red spread across her face.
"Seems to me he was conplementing you." Crystal replied with a soft smirk. "I assume you want to enlist my help with this right?" She continued on earling a soft nod from the smaller black dragoness. Crystal let her mask fall as a wide smile spread across her face. "Ok trust me...I have the perfect plan..."
Chapter End